Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Reduces Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,346 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 9,039 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.07% of KLA worth $64,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $815.39.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $13.07 on Friday, hitting $889.87. 1,175,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,126,004. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $914.83. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $773.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $722.42. The company has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.